This class explores the definition of the term "culinary." Questions of class, race, labor, and art will be addressed via the preparation of sushi. Students will be able to view, participate, and consume the tasks necessary in the making of a transnational culinary dish. From killing a live fish to plate design and "proper" sushi etiquette, students will be exposed to the evolution of food: from its necessary part in human evolution and survival to its necessary part in cultural expression and protection in modernity. Ingredients for the dish will be shown to students in its most "raw" state before being (re)presented in their culinary forms on white, sanitized plates. Market prices will accompnay all ingredients to display their commodified value. Wherein lies the "culinary artistry" of sushi? That is the question of the class. Articles on modernity, Asian American Studies, and Japanese cooking will accompany the lecture in order to provide students with a view of the culinary in the wider scope of transnationalism and world culture.

Suggested Reading

Khan Tran holds two Masters Degrees, one in East Asian Languages and Literature from UC Irvine and Asian American Studies from California State University at Long Beach. Tran has taught courses in Asian Studies, Social History of the Vietnam War, Humanities, English Composition, Women Studies, and Gender Politics in Asian America at the university level. Tran has spoken at many conferences around the United States. She has also owned and operated a Pan-Asian restaurant and is currently a manager for Barnes and Noble Bookstore which now stands on the same location as her former restaurant.